While the RED Scarlet has been the darling of the internet and low-budget filmmaking for sometime, it seems like there’s a new challenger in town. Sony, who’s no stranger to the camera field, producing consumer HD and 3D camcorders while also providing a vast range of the cinema grade cameras which are used to shoot many Hollywood feature films, is set to enter a contender and fight off the RED invasion. Expected to be introduced at NAB later this month with a June release date, the NEX-FS700E is rumored to carry a $8,000 price tag.

The NEX-FS700E is expected to be based on the NEX E-mount like the NEX-FS100, pictured above (because no pictures of the FS700E have yet to leak out  view pictures of the NEX-FS700). New to the camera will also be the bump to 4K video to a dedicated external recorder over 3G HD-SDI, the future of film and video games. A trio of neutral density filters, 960fps, and  slow motion options includes 120, 240 and 480 are expected as well.

In a bold move, the NEX-FS700E will be priced lower than the Canon C300, the closest competitor. Many also wrongly assume the RED is a competitor to entry professional cameras. Instead, most forget that the $9,000 price tag only buys the body with an array of expensive and proprietary equipment like batteries and power adaptors. For example, RED charges $2,500 for a 7-inch LCD, $220 cables, $3,200 EVF, while requiring a proprietary REDmag card to record for $1,500 and 256GB SSD for $3,200. With such prices, the RED more realistically comes in $20,000 packages.

Discuss:

Will the new NEX-FS700E series help Sony conquer the entry professional market?

[Via EOSHD]